The Beatles Album Covers – Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles Album Covers – Magical Mystery Tour   

The Beatles‘ 1967 double LP Magical Mystery Tour features an eccentric, colorful, psychedelic cover designed by American pop artist John Van Hamersveld, who also created covers for the Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Kiss, and Blondie, among others.   

In a style reminiscent of Willy Wonka, the Wizard of Oz, and Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters, yellow stars spell out the word “Beatles,” and the tracklist is displayed in red, curved text, beginning with “The Fool on the Hill” and ending with “All You Need Is Love.” John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr stand on top of rainbow-colored bubble letters that spell out the words “Magical Mystery Tour.” With arms outstretched, they sport furry animal costumes and masks that obscure their faces, in keeping with the psychedelic theme.   

Despite popular misconception due to the “Paul is dead” conspiracy theory, John Lennon is actually the walrus. Paul is the hippo, George is the rabbit, and Ringo is the chicken. Hardcore Beatles aficionados claim that they can point to dozens of hints that Paul is actually dead in the images on this particular album. For example, some believe that when you turn the Magical Mystery Tour album jacket upside down and hold it in front of a mirror, the reflection of the title transforms into the digits to a phone number. Furthermore, according to the rumor, if one were to dial the number, he would learn the truth of Paul McCartney’s death.   

Magical Mystery Tour also came with a 24-page full-color picture booklet, and the back cover is made up of a compilation of images from a scene in the “Magical Mystery Tour” TV special that broadcast in the U.K. in 1967. (It didn’t premiere in the U.S. until a 1976 theatrical release.)